


Two Heads are Better than One

by fallentale



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: "Alice" - Freeform, BATIM, Boris - Freeform, FRIENDSHIP BICHES!!!!, Gen, Henry - Freeform, Joey Drew Studios, alice angel - Freeform, allison angel - Freeform, bendy and the ink machine - Freeform, boris the wolf, tom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 19:24:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16248233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallentale/pseuds/fallentale
Summary: Just two rules. It's easy to follow. Nothing can go wrong.





	Two Heads are Better than One

**Author's Note:**

> hi hello welcome back to more batim fan fics.  
> chapter 5 is so close, and because of its near arrival, i wanted to create a final fan fic to celebrate. after all, it's been a while since i touched a fan fic related to batim. here's my final two cents!  
> look, allison and tom may not be as merciful and nice as we think they are (i mean, did you guys hear that new audio tape themeatly released?), but i do like to think that the two are a revolutionary pair of friends. i wonder what they'll be like once the chapter releases?  
> anyways, enjoy this short story about these two. <3

They had only two rules: keep your guard up and don't turn on the machine. Plain and simple. There wasn't much they could screw up. They were sharp as tacks, and they knew how to get themselves out of a sticky situation.

Unfortunately, the second rule was already broken, but Tom was not the one to blame.

He watched from the balcony, one hand on his pipe and the other on the railing. He squinted at the machine, steam sneaking out from its vents. It chugged along like a hellish train, whistling nerve-wracking melodies. A waterfall of ink spilled from its nozzle, and Tom watched a thick, fleshy mass plop onto the basin from it. He shivered in disgust, but kept his eyes glued on it anyhow.

A hand popped out from the inky mass, pulling out the rest of her body. Tom, immediately recognizing the figure of ink, threw himself off of the balcony. He landed on the wooden floors just beneath and rushed to the edge of the platform.

The figure freed herself from the ink and stumbled towards the edge of the basin. Already having legs, she leapt over to Tom and crashed to the floor. Tom knelt down and placed a protective arm over her.

"You okay?" he asked, glancing back and forth between the machine and the figure.

Black strands of hair wiggled out of her scalp. They hid her face that slowly regained its beige color. Her horns and halo grew out of her head as she flexed her fingers. She opened her eyes and looked at Tom. She flashed a grin and stood up, using the wolf as support.

"Better than ever," she finally replied. She bit the bottom of her black lips, glaring at the ink that pooled out from the machine. She began to back away. "But let's get out of here before one of us ends up dead...again."

"Can't tell if that's sarcasm or not, but I'm just glad to see that you're okay, Allison," said Tom. His keen eyes found the door underneath the balcony. He jutted his thumb at it. "Let's go."

"Agreed," said Allison. She ran away from the machine, Tom following behind.

Allison threw open the door and rushed up the staircase. She glanced at Tom over her shoulder. "I didn't wanna bring this up right away, but why the _hell_ did you turn on the machine?"

"I didn't, I swear!" declared Tom. "Somebody came in here while I was about to head back down."

The two reached the top of the steps and stumbled into the workroom. They ran straight ahead and down the main hallway. Allison saw the open door leading into the pub. With Tom by her side, they both entered through the door and jumped down the steps.

Allison reached the bottom of the stairs first and grabbed the wooden boards that sat in the nearby corner. As if he had read her mind, Tom snatched a few of the nails that decorated the tables. He dropped to the ground and looked underneath a chair, grabbing the lonely hammer that hid in the shadows.

"Did you at least see _who_ it was?" asked Allison as she tucked the boards underneath her arm.

"It was an old man, but I couldn't see his face clearly." Tom twirled the hammer around and began to make his way up the steps. "Pretty sure that stranger was the one who turned the damn thing on."

Allison huffed and joined Tom. "I've drilled that rule into your head too many times to count, so I should've known it wasn't you."

"Don't worry about it," spoke Tom. He hopped off of the final step and nodded his head towards the entrance into the machine's room. "For now, let's get that room boarded up before _he_ causes a ruckus."

The two ran through the rest of the hallway. They jumped over the obnoxious pipe and stood just before the balcony. Allison placed one of the boards against the entrance. Tom quickly aimed a nail into the left side of the board and hammered away.

"Ya think this stranger walkin' 'round is a pure idiot?" he asked, focusing on his hammering instead of the sputtering machine.

Allison shrugged, readying another board.  "No idea. I would've liked to see him, but a dead girl can't see anything." She pushed herself away from the board Tom finished and grabbed another one.

Tom continued placing nails into the wood. "I really hope he's an idiot and not another Joey Drew."

Allison nodded her head to the empty space of the entrance way above. "One more there and we should be good." She hopped to her feet and slammed the final board in its place. Tom dug another nail into its wooden surface.

The machine in the room beyond wheezed, and the two saw a pair of claws scratch at the nozzle. They growled, and picked up their pace with their handiwork.

"Figures he'd come back, too," grumbled Tom. He struck the last nail into the board and stepped back. 

"We've all got a storm coming," mumbled Allison, darkly. She began to make her way into the hall until she realized that Tom wasn't following her. She whirled around and motioned her hand at him. "C'mon, we gotta go before he shows up."

Tom slowly walked out into the hallway, his widow's peak furrowed in deep thought. "Don'tcha think we should find 'im?"

Allison rose a brow, confused. "Who are you talking about?"

"The stranger." His cartoon-y eyes went wide. He pointed down the hallway with a gloved hand. "I don't think he knows what he's doin'. We should--I don't know--maybe capture 'im so he doesn't cause any more trouble."

Allison frowned. "Tom, we're not going to go after him. We have to save _ourselves."_

"C'mon, Al," pleaded Tom. "If this guy turns out to be crazy, then we'll take 'im down. I just don't wanna be cleanin' up after his mess if we leave 'im be."

Allison shook her head as she grabbed Tom's shoulders. "Believe me, I would _love_ to find him, but-" Her words were cut short by the trashing in the pipes above their heads.

The two looked upward, hearing the steady stream of ink and the occasional, abnormal bump. Tom handed Allison the hammer while he pulled out his handy gent pipe from his pocket. They turned their stares to the machine's room and heard an unholy groan.

A round of footsteps passed through Allison and Tom's ears. They twirled around, and they saw a short shadow cross the walls in the hallway to their right. The yellowish lights dimmed, trying to kill off the shadow.

"That's gotta be 'im," whispered Tom. He glanced at Allison. "We can get 'im now. We can get 'im before B-"

Allison grabbed Tom by his overall strap and pulled him into the pub. "Let's go, Tom."

Tom struggled to flee. "B-But, Al-"

"Let's _go."_ She could already hear the groans of the beast growing louder and louder.

Tom whimpered and finally obeyed Allison's order. Disappointed, he turned around as Allison lifted her grip from his strap. Tom rushed down the stairs, and Allison closed the door. While Tom sprinted over to the boarded-up corner at the end of the pub, Allison neared the last step and stopped in her tracks. She looked down at her feet and saw that she had been leaving a trail of inky footprints behind her.

She glanced wildly at the steps and tugged at her hair. "I should've _known_ this was going to happen."

"What's wrong?" called Tom.

Allison shook her head and rushed over. "Don't worry about it. We'll...we'll be fine."

Tom shrugged and crawled through the compact spaces in between the boards. Allison looked behind her and grimaced.

A storm really _was_ brewing in Joey Drew Studios, and Allison had no idea if her and Tom were prepared for it.

* * *

 

Tom kicked at the inky remains, a cold frown on his face. "Bastard deserved it."

Allison knelt down and withdrew the shabby mask from the mass. A sorrowful expression came across her face as she stared at the rigid hole in its mouth. She sighed and turned her gaze to the floor. "He was a nice guy before, though...”

Tom shook his head and crossed his arms. "I remember 'im bein' a mighty jerk to Susie before everythin' went downhill."

"Yeah, but I think it was...Joey that changed him," said Allison, sadly. She gently sat the mask down by the ink. "He was either the nicest guy in the world or the biggest douche you ever met. It was never in between."

Tom huffed and exited the room. Allison stood up and followed him out. She looked at the sacrifice pole while Tom stared out into the dark hallway just a few feet ahead of him.

"Ya think...ya think _he's_ gonna go after that guy?" questioned Tom, quietly.

Allison nodded her head glumly. "Wouldn't be surprised." She stared at Tom. "He's probably gonna go deeper into the studio."

Tom shivered and grabbed his pipe from the pocket of his overalls. He held it tight as a way to calm him down. "I'm gonna bet on every bacon soup can in this damn studio that _she's_ gonna be down there."

"Oh, dammit," snarled Allison, slamming her hand into her forehead. "He's gonna go right into her territory. I can just _feel_ it."

"Al, we gotta get down there as fast as we can." He approached Allison, face grim. "That man won't stand a chance if they're both after 'im. We can still capture 'im, ask 'im why he's here."

"You're right." She bit her lip and casted her gaze to the floor. "It's just...it's just gonna be weird seeing her again."

"Ya ain't alone," said Tom. He scoffed. "I've been seein' too many Borises to count, both dead  _and_ alive."

"Okay, that's true," said Allison. She idly touched the handle of her sword. "I really hope we don't meet up with... _Bendy."_

Tom found himself looking at his mechanical arm. He bowed his head. "I wish I could just reason with 'im, but I know that ain't possible."

Allison stared at Tom, wincing. "I know." She gazed out into the hallway. "I think both Boris and Alice would wanna talk to him, but...but that's _never_ gonna happen."

"Ya think he knows they're practically us now?" asked Tom, glancing at Allison.

The angelic warrior blinked and looked down at her palms.

"I don't know."

* * *

 

Tom and Allison rushed into Level 9, sweat and ink dripping from the tips of their chins. They stumbled towards the elevator shaft and looked down, the eerie silence filling the air.

Allison slammed her fist against the metal cage, furious. "Goddammit!"

"Hey, keep yer voice down," warned Tom. He scanned the area around him. "Just b'cause that man ain't here don't mean that Bendy won't show up."

"He's _always_ going to go after that guy," snapped Allison. "He doesn't care about us. He just wants _him."_ She bubbled in her anger for a moment before realizing the harshness in her words. She glanced at Tom, embarrassed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you like that."

"Don't worry 'bout it," reassured Tom. He stepped away from the shaft and stared at the angel's lair out of the corner of his eye. "I don't think we should stay here any longer, though. We gotta go after 'im."

"We should at least make a plan," spoke Allison. She glared at the Alice Angel statue that sat above the lair's entrance. "She's got a Boris with her, and if that one croaks during her...experiment, she's gonna go after another one. That other one could be _you,_ Tom."

Tom quivered and let out a worried chuckle. "Sheesh, no need to be so blunt about it."

"But it's the truth." She slipped her sword into its scabbard. "We need to stay out of sight big time, and that means only helping...this Henry guy when it is absolutely necessary."

"But what if he runs into Bendy?" questioned Tom. His widow's peak furrowed into irritation. "That idiot's mighty lucky that he didn't get skewered by that bastard."

Allison bit her lip, looking at the empty shaft again. She fiddled with her fingers, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "Okay, don't think I'm weird for saying this, but I...I've been thinking about this for a while."

"What is it?" asked Tom.

Allison opened her eyes and rested her cheek on her open palm. "You know how much Bendy hates Susie, right?"

Tom snorted. "I think 'hate' is an understatement."

"True, but just hear me out," said Allison. She pointed to the floor. "Susie's after him, meaning that she has the man _Bendy_ wants. Susie is definitely going to try to kill the guy, no doubt about it...but I don't think Bendy wants that."

Tom blinked, piecing the puzzle together. "Are ya sayin' that he doesn't want anyone else to kill the guy b'cause... _he_ wants 'im?"

"Yeah, pretty much." She paced around. "Think about it; up until this Henry found a Boris, nobody has been after the guy except for Bendy, and I'm not counting the other freaks."

"Wait, what about Sammy?" asked Tom. "He tried to sacrifice 'im."

"But Bendy stopped him," remarked Allison. She pursed her lips as she recalled the memory. "I think he just smashed him into a puddle because he was being annoying, but I can't say much on that." She shook her head. "Still, I think it's safe to say that Bendy wants the stranger for himself, and anyone who tries to take him away will immediately end up dead." She touched her heart and frowned a little. "And I'm starting to get the feeling that that's going to be what Susie gets unless we stop her before he gets to her."

"Fair theory," nodded Tom. He chewed at the inside of his cheek. "But we're tryin' to get the guy for ourselves. I don't think we should just give 'im off to Bendy."

"That's the only problem," mumbled Allison. "If _we_ get involved now, then we're going to be in a worse situation."

"I say we take down Susie and get back that guy," suggested Tom. "Pretty sure the old man wants to get outta here alive anyhow." He frowned. "But I...I don't know if I trust 'im a lot yet. He's got a  _lot_ of questions to answer."

Allison giggled. "Yeah, that sounds good." She wrapped her fingers around the cold metal of the shaft. "Let's dive deeper down, then."

* * *

 

Tom and Allison walked through the dark hall, the stench of burnt ink and bacon soup following them. Allison released her hair tie and placed it in her mouth as she gathered her ruffled, black hair.

The wolf kept his eyes straight ahead, gently smacking his pipe into the palm of his mechanical hand. "I think we're gettin' close to that haunted house."

Allison tied her hair into a ponytail. "Wouldn't be surprised. We've been walking for a while now." She stopped and looked around. "You wanna take a break?"

"Might as well before we throw ourselves at Susie," said Tom, cynically. He turned around and slid down the wall. He sighed in relief and rubbed his legs. "Walkin' 'round all the time sure makes me exhausted."

"Half of the time, we don't even get to _walk,"_ smirked Allison. She sat down and rested her head against the wall. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes. "Why don't we play...a game?"

Tom snorted, resting his elbow on his knee. "What, are ya bored?"

"Just a tiny bit," smiled Allison. She looked at Tom. "Let's play a question game."

"Sure, sure," nodded Tom. "You first, missy."

"Okay, okay." She stared at the ceiling as she thought. "What was...your favorite candy as a kid?"

"Black licorice," replied Tom. "Definitely black licorice."

"Ew!" laughed Allison. "That's the worst flavor!"

"No, it ain't!" countered Tom with a grin. He leaned back and rose his widow's peak at Allison. "Fine, then. What was _yours?"_

"Tootsie rolls," answered Allison, simply.

"Boring!" exclaimed Tom.

"Oh, please." She nodded her head at Tom. "Your turn."

Tom tapped his chin while he thought of his question. His eyes brightened the second one popped into his head. "Who did ya have the biggest crush on?"

"Oh, jeez," said Allison, warmly. She hummed to herself, cupping her hands over her cheeks. "Let's see...before I came here, I think it was Dorothy McBride who I obsessed over."

Tom whistled in surprise. "What she do to ya?"

"Oh, nothing really." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I met her over the summer while I was back from college. We hung out a lot...and she always talked about leaving town."

"Did she?" asked Tom.

Allison nodded, solemnly. "She left me a cute letter with some sunflowers before she went." She laughed softly. "I would've went with her, but I didn't want to throw myself into that." She glanced at Tom. "What about you?"

"Ah, sheesh." His ears drooped slightly. "Before I got the job here, I had a girlfriend named Patrice Fisher." He winked at Allison. "I guess you could say we were high school sweethearts."

"Get out of town!" gasped Allison.

"Heh, yeah..." grinned Tom, blushing. "We drifted apart once she went to college, but a good nine years later, she came to visit me. Then...we fell in love." His smile dropped, and his blush faded away like an eraser cleaned it off. "I was...I was gonna propose to her, but all of _this_ happened."

"Oh, Tom..." whispered Allison. She bowed her head, woeful. "I'm so sorry."

"No need to apologize for somethin' that ya didn't do, Al." He shook his head and sighed. "Sorry to bring the mood down. It's yer turn."

"R-Right," said Allison, lifting her head. She tapped her fingers against the wall. "What did you do before you got a job here?"

"Worked as the repair man for an apartment complex," said Tom with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Everyday, I'd be fixin' leaky pipes and greasin' up rusty door hinges."

"Sounds like a _wonderful_ job," commented Allison, sarcastically.

"Oh, it was helluva lot better than workin' for Mister Drew," said Tom. He nudged Allison. "What about you?"

"I worked as a waitress at two diners," replied Allison. "I couldn't find any plays to be in at the time, so I decided to do that."

"Was it rough?" asked Tom.

Allison nodded. "I got home at crazy hours and I rarely got the chance to just...indulge on little luxuries." She smiled to herself. "But there was a time when I finally saved enough money to buy a TV." She turned to Tom. "You wanna what show was on when I watched it for the first time?"

"What?" asked Tom, jovially.

"The Bendy cartoon," she answered, her voice bursting with jubilee. "The episode on that day was 'Showbiz Bendy,' and I fell in love instantly." She sat up straight and stared distantly at the wall in front of her. "So every night that I came back from work, I just watched the cartoons." Her eyes sparkled. "I dreamed of being a voice actor for it. I didn't care what it was, I just wanted to be apart of it." Her joy crumbled. "I didn't think it...it would end up like _this_ though." She covered a hand over her eyes. "God, now I'm making things depressing with this game. This was a bad idea."

"Ya did nothin' wrong, Al," soothed Tom. "Maybe it's for the best that we're openin' up like this. Makes it seem like we haven't been living like this for our entire lives, y'know?"

Allison uncovered her eyes and nodded. "Yeah...yeah, that's a good point." She smiled at the wolf. "Thanks, Tom. You're a good listener, you know that?"

"Ah, it's no big deal," said Tom as he pushed himself off of the ground. He held out his hand and helped Allison up. "Everyone's got a story, and I'm willin' to listen to 'em all."

"Nice philosophy," smiled Allison. She withdrew her sword and stretched her arms. "Well...you ready?"

Tom forced a laugh. He spun his pipe around his fingers. "Hell no, but I'm gonna do it anyway."

Allison playfully slapped Tom's back as they continued their trek down the hall. "That's the spirit."

* * *

 

"Alright, what's the plan?" asked Tom in a hushed voice. He jumped slightly as the monster landed back on the ground with a horrible _thud!_

"We wait for the guy to kill him off and then we see what Susie does," replied Allison, her eyes glued on the man in the spacious area ahead. "If she comes out, then I'll kill her nice and easy."

"Aw, _I_ wanted to do that," whined Tom.

"What, and smack her around with your pipe?" asked Allison, annoyed. "I don't wanna be mean, Tom, but that's only gonna piss her off."

"Fine, fine, but I call the shots next time," muttered Tom, pouting.

Allison chuckled. "Fair enough." She switched her gaze to the hulking Boris beast and frowned. "Can't believe she actually made him into... _that."_

"You're surprised?" questioned Tom, raising his widow's peak. "I sure as hell ain't."

"I just didn't think she'd go _this_ far," muttered Allison. "I thought she only wanted its body parts to be beautiful."

"Maybe she wanted to test out her newly found anatomy skills," joked Tom.

Allison squinted at the monster that slammed its fists to the ground. She held onto the wall corner she hid behind. "She should probably practice more, then..."

The human man yelped as he ducked from Boris' mighty fist. He frowned ruefully and dug his pipe deep into the wolf monster's skull. Boris froze and slowly lifted his hands to his pulsing heart.

Tom waved his hand at the man. "See? _He_ killed 'im off with a pipe, so why can't I do the same with Susie?"

"C'mon, Tom," said Allison, elbowing the wolf. "That was the only weapon he could get his hands on. Our situation is different."

Tom harrumphed and crossed his arms, but continued looking at the scene unfolding a few feet ahead of them.

Boris collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. The pipe fell out of the man's hands as he knelt down to his friend's side. Even from afar, Allison and Tom knew he was grieving.

 _"No!"_ screeched a familiar, horrendous voice from the speakers above. "No, no, no! Why can't you ever just _die?"_

Allison gasped and whipped her head around. From the darkness behind her, she saw a shadow running towards them. She pushed Tom against the wall, pressed flat. They watch the shadow run out into the light, and knew right away that it was "Alice."

After all, who could forget that broken halo and wretched face of hers?

"Let's go!" demanded Allison, quietly. She drew out her sword and sprinted behind the angel while crouching. Tom followed behind, bearing his sharp teeth.

The old man stood up the second he heard "Alice's" screams. His jaw dropped and he began to step back just as "Alice" threw out her arms.

Luck, thankfully, was on his side today.

The sword pierced through "Alice's" chest. She gasped and looked down at the blade. Ink bubbled in her mouth as she shot a final glance at the man. The sword was pulled out, and she dropped to the ground like a rag doll.

Allison and Tom rose. Allison gawked at the man, her sword hanging limp in her hands. Tom slapped his pipe into his hand, glaring at the human.

The man just stood there, baffled. He looked at the ink puddle he stood in, then at the deceased "Alice," and _then_ at Allison and Tom. He licked his dry lips and slowly rose his hands into the air.

Allison propped her hand on her hip as she stuck her sword back in its scabbard. She tilted her chin up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“You shouldn’t be here.”


End file.
